Faith
Integrity
Diligence
Excellence
Service
Spring 2015
Vol. 78, No. 3
Entered as Periodical
at Post Office, Media, Pa.
The Williamsonian
A PUBLICATION for alumni and friends of The Williamson School
‘Commissioning Celebration’
Recognizes Energy Island Progress
The five “Commissioning Celebration” speakers helped make the event
special. They are (from left to right): John Beaudry, director of power plant
technology; Trustee Richard Storm 6W2; Joseph Portz, power plant technology senior; Thomas Ott, project manager; and President Michael Rounds.
3 Win Gold At SkillsUSA States
Williamson has maintained its reputation as a school that produces outstanding tradesmen as it took three gold
and two silver medals at the SkillsUSA
State competitions in Hershey in April.
Gold medal winners were: Carpentry,
Bill Davis, construction technologycarpentry senior; Masonry, Cody Palmer, construction technology-masonry
junior; and CNC Technician, Joe Goodwin, machine tool technology senior.
Silver medal winners were: Automated Manufacturing, Dave Bender,
Mitchel Carl, and Dan Deaver, machine
tool technology seniors; and Industrial
Motor Control, Kevin Costigan, power
plant technology junior.
Continued on page 7
Delaware County Chamber Of Commerce
Names Williamson Nonprofit Of The Year
Williamson was honored with the
Nonprofit of the Year Award by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce
at the Small Business Awards Dinner at
the Drexelbrook Event Center March
19.
Trish McFarland, Chamber president,
said “The Delaware County Chamber
of Commerce is proud to recognize the
Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades as our Nonprofit of the Year.
Williamson prepares young men to be
well-trained and respected leaders in
their field of study at no cost. We are
fortunate to have such a fine institution
of higher learning located here in Delaware County.”
President Michael Rounds accepted
the award saying, “It is a great honor
and privilege to represent Williamson
every day. I want to thank everyone
associated with Williamson and the
Chamber of Commerce for recogniz-
ing us with this special award. May God
bless you all.”
He also told the crowd that, “A Williamson man is a man you can trust and
rely on, that takes pride in his work,
does the job right, stays on the job until
it is complete, and is the first guy you
promote to foreman because Williamson men are leaders.”
Also attending from Williamson were
President Rounds’ wife, Mary Nell; Bill
Bonenberger 7W9, vice chairman of the
Board of Trustees, and his wife Janet;
Trustee William Strine, and his wife
Judy; Trustee Vincent Mancini; Trustee
Art Lallo 7W9 and his wife Renee; and
Pete D’Orazio, of the Advancement Office.
Art Lallo sat at a table with Robert
Simpson, CPA, of Brinker, Simpson &
Co., LLC, a successful certified public
accounting firm in Springfield, who
Continued on page 8
The progress of the Energy Island
Project was recognized recently during
a “Commissioning Celebration” with
trustees, alumni, staff, students, and visitors in the Power Plant’s Turbine Hall.
After an invocation by Chaplain Mark
Specht 7W7, President Michael Rounds
welcomed the crowd and said they were
celebrating the significant milestone in
the Energy Island of three major components being completed— the upgrading of the boilers, installation and commissioning of the steam turbine, and the
construction of the new control room.
He said that $1.5 million budgeted
dollars of the project was completed
with about $1 million and about 75
percent of the electrical generation and
mechanical improvements were completed for about 50 percent of the budgeted costs.
He said much of the savings was due
to student and alumni involvement and
equipment donations and everyone
present was either a major contributor
or a critical supporter of the project.
“There are many people to thank, but I
especially want to thank The Connelly
Foundation, The George Alden Trust,
and the Dominion Foundation for their
financial support. We also owe a debt of
gratitude to Wayne Watson, our board
chairman, who has supported this project since the beginning, and our board
members on the Energy Island Committee, Richard Storm, Nicholas Davey,
and John Barnes.”
He also praised project manager Tom
Ott and his son Brian Ott who have
contributed time and expertise to the
project since the beginning, and Rich
Daubenspeck 9W1, of Deval Equipment
Corp., who has worked long hours as a
volunteer, often working alongside students, giving them valuable experience.
Rounds said the project got students
from all of Williamson’s shops involved,
especially power plant technology students who worked side by side with energy professionals.
Trustee Richard Storm 6W2 spoke of
Continued on page 4
Toll Brothers’ CEO To Speak At Commencement
Douglas C. Yearley, chief executive
officer and director of Toll Brothers, will
deliver the keynote address at Williamson’s 122nd Commencement at 2 p.m.,
Friday, May 29, on campus, as 70 members of the Class of 2015 are sent into
the world as “Williamson men.”
Yearley joined Toll Brothers in 1990,
one of the country’s largest luxury home
builders. He began specializing in land
acquisitions and project management
and then helped oversee the company’s
substantial growth through new market
expansion and builder acquisitions.
He was vice president from 1994-2002;
senior vice president from 2002-05; and
regional president from 2005-09, manContinued on page 8
Board Member Tribute
V. Gerald Wright
“I am sorry to report that we have
lost one of our longtime members of the
board of trustees,” announced Wayne C.
Watson 4W8, board chairman. “V. Gerald Wright passed away May 3.
“We are very saddened to hear of Jerry Wright’s passing. He was a valuable
member of our board for many ye